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Cassiopeia
An easily identifiable constellation, W-shaped Cassiopeia comprises five stars. Made up of moderately bright stars, Cassiopeia is circumpolar, meaning you can see it regardless of the season or time of night because it revolves around the North Pole.
According to Greek legend, Cassiopeia was the mother of Andromeda and the proud queen of Aethiopia, a country in northern Africa. Queen Cassiopeia boasted that her mortal beauty rivaled that of the immortal Nereids, who were sea goddesses. Hearing this statement, Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, was furious and sent a hideous sea creature, Cetus, to torment the country.
Cepheus
Cepheus, father of Andromeda and husband to Cassiopeia, was the king of Aethiopia. Because of Cassiopeia's boasting, Poseidon sent the sea monster, Cetus, to ravage the land of Cepheus. To appease Poseidon, Cepheus agreed to chain Andromeda to rocks to sacrifice her to the sea monster.
Mu Cephei, a star within Cepheus, is also known as the "Garnet Star" because of its deep red color. This unusual star has a diameter several hundred times that of the sun but with a brightness of about twelve thousand times.
Lacerta
A dim group of stars, Lacerta supposedly represents a lizard. Lacerta does not correspond to any legends or myths. Johannes Hevelius first described the lightning-like constellation in his work honoring Native American culture, which described that particular area of space as resembling a lizard, according to the Universe Today website.
Pegasus
Another autumn constellation, Pegasus is recognized by the "Great Square," which can help you locate other constellations in the area. Pegasus, according to the Greek myth retold by Dr. David Green of Pepperdine University, was a horse equipped with wings born from Medusa's headless corpse when the hero Perseus killed her. Medusa was a gruesome creature; she possessed writhing snakes for hair and could change people into stone if they looked at her. A single star, Alpheratz, connects the two constellations of Andromeda and Pegasus. Pegasus interests astronomers because it houses several galaxies and a dazzling cluster of stars designated M15.
Perseus
Perseus was the son of Zeus, the leader of the Greek gods. Legend recounts Perseus' adventures slaying Medusa and rescuing and marrying the princess Andromeda.
Perseus is a rather dim constellation that is also circumpolar. One of the constellation's stars is Algol, nicknamed the "Demon Star" since it has a habit of brightening and dimming every few days. According to Dr. David Green, professor of analytical chemistry at Pepperdine University, Perseus honored Medusa by including her -- represented by Algol -- within his own constellation.
Pisces
Legend describes Pisces as representing the goddess Aphrodite and her son, Eros, who changed into fish to escape a giant. The Eastbay Astronomical Society indicates that Pisces is in close proximity to other water constellations such as the water bearer, Aquarius, and Cetus. Pisces' stars form a V shape. The vertex of the V is known as the Heavenly Knot and ties the two fish together. The Northern Fish assumes a diamond shape, while an oval called the Circlet represents the Western Fish. The galaxy known as M74 lies within the constellation, but is gradually moving away from our Milky Way galaxy. This galaxy is similar to our own.
Triangulum
The constellation Triangulum is historically referred to as the Deltoton -- in reference to the Greek letter delta -- and also has a counterpart in Egyptian history. The Romans call this same group of stars Sicilia, in honor of Sicily, the island that is home to the Roman goddess Ceres. The Pinwheel Galaxy, designated M33, is enclosed within the borders of Triangulum and contains areas of dust, gases and hot blue stars, sure signs of being a hotbed of star formation, according to the Eastbay Astronomical Society.